Policy and the Political Life of Music Education is the first book of its kind in the field of Music Education. It offers a far-reaching and innovative outlook, bringing together expert voices who provide a multifaceted and global set of insights into a critical arena for action today: policy. On one hand, the book helps the novice to make sense of what policy is, how it functions, and how it is discussed in various parts of the world; while on the other, it offers the experienced educator a set of critically written analyses that outline the state of the play of music education policy thinking.As policy participation remains largely underexplored in music education, the book helps to clarify to teachers how policy thinking does shape educational action and directly influences the nature, extent, and impact of our programs. The goal is to help readers understand the complexities of policy and to become better skilled in how to think, speak, and act in policy terms. The book provides new ways to understand and therefore imagine policy, approximating it to the lives of educators and highlighting its importance and impact. This is an essential read for anyone interested in change and how to better understand decision-making within music and education. Finally, this book, while aimed at the growth of music educators' knowledge-base regarding policy, also fosters 'open thinking' regarding policy as subject, helping educators straddling arts and education to recognize that policy thinking can offer creative designs for educational change.

About the Companion WebsiteForeword - Peter WebsterIntroduction - Patrick Schmidt & Richard ColwellPart I. Policy Foundations1. Why Policy Matters: Developing a Policy Vocabulary within Music Education, Patrick Schmidt2. Arts Policies and their local importance: From History to Practice, Richard Colwell3. The Context of Education Policy in the United States and the Intersection with Music Education Policy, Ross Rubenstein4. Policy and Research Endeavours, Katherine Zeserson and Graham Welch5. Policy and the Question of Assessment, Martin FautleyPart II. International Perspectives on Policy6. Revisiting Bildung And Its Meaning For International Music Education Policy, Alexandra Kertz-Welzel7. Policy and Governmental Action in Brazil, Sergio Figueiredo8. Music Education for Both the Talented and the Masses: The Policy of Assessment-Based Reform, Mei-Ling Lai and Yao-Ting Sung9. Curriculum as Policy: State-Level Music Curriculum Creation and Reform, Stephanie HorsleyPart III. Policy in Context10. Policy and the Lives of School Age Children, Margaret Barrett11. Policy and the Work of the Musician/Teacher in the Community, David Myers12. Policy, Access and Multicultural (Music) Education, Sidsel Karlsen13. Can Music Education Policy Save American Orchestras? Alan Fletcher14. Policy and Higher Education, Patrick M. Jones15. K-16 Music Education in a Democratic Society, Robert A. Cutietta